Each fall I clear my property in a rural section of Greenfield, as well as that of my elderly neighbors and a widowed neighbor. In total, I clear in excess of 4 acres of land, not a small lot, as is typical of many Greenfield homes.

Our properties are heavily treed, so there are literally millions of leaves to be dealt with. This requires a backpack blower for tighter spots near buildings and an 18hp, wheeled, walk-behind, gas-powered commercial leaf blower. (And yes, I do own a battery-powered blower, which I use for minor, appropriate tasks that don’t require much power or extended usage.)

It would literally be impossible to clear this amount of property with an electric blower, as is being recommended [“Policies target nips, gas leaf blowers,” Recorder, Aug. 12]. They lack the power, durability, and electrical capacity to tackle a job anywhere near this size. What takes a few hours a year now would take weeks of full-time effort to accomplish, rendering it practically impossible. Effectively, I would be banned from cleaning up my own property and that of my neighbors, which is unacceptable.

You might ask, “Why remove leaves at all?” 

Where we live, the leaves are of sufficient quantity that they would be inches deep just as they are in the wooded areas surrounding our properties, rotting and growing moldy.

Leaf removal is an essential component of tick control. A proliferation of ticks, with which we are already infested with locally, presents a far more serious hazard to the populace at large than a few hours of distant noise a few days each year.

I don’t fertilize or use pesticides on my lawn. I try to be environmentally responsible. It's a mix of grass, weeds, moss, and other natural vegetation. That said, it would be bare ground beneath the leaves in short order if they were left year-round, and that land would then be subject to erosion.

In summary:

■This is not a universal issue. The town is contemplating a major change to suit the concerns of a vocal few.

■This is a temporary, seasonal issue, not a continuous nuisance. Yes, leaf blowers aren’t used just for leaves, but leaf removal likely represents the greatest continuous usage on an annual basis versus, for example, blowing away grass clippings. 

■It would be naive to think that electric blowers are suitable to every, or even most, leaf removal tasks.

Available battery blowers have nowhere near the power or capacity to deal with larger tasks, or to serve commercial enterprises that clear multiple properties. These blowers are expensive and would require dozens of expensive batteries to complete a task. This might cause many people to stop clearing leaves at all — and wouldn’t that make a pretty mess? 

If the noise is an issue, then tackle that with an appropriate noise ordinance. 

And if leaf blower noise is such an oppressive issue, how long before we need an ordinance to ban gasoline lawnmowers, equally noisy and used with greater frequency over a much longer time span each year? To ban gasoline-powered snowblowers for their noise? (There are electric snowblowers available, but just as unsuited to clearing my 700-foot driveway as electric leaf blowers are to clearing  my acreage.) 

How long before an ordinance to ban fossil-fueled cars, trucks, and motorcycles, all much noisier than electric vehicles? To ban the various local music festivals for their noise, which generate complaints each year in town, but are allowed, in part, because they present a temporary inconvenience, just like leaf blowers? To ban the annual fireworks display, due to noise and the impact on our population of pets and residents with PTSD? How long before we need to convert the town trash trucks to electric vehicles? Oh my goodness, the noise I have to endure each week when they rumble by! 

So, I say no to the proposed ban. It’s a classic case of overreach with no practical, workable solution that will work for both businesses and private property owners. If our noise ordinance(s) need adjustment or greater enforcement, by all means, have at it. But please don't start down the slippery slope of banning devices that make noise.

There are a lot of things that are much more persistent than leaf blowers making noise in the world. We live in a noisy world and a few hours each year of leaf removal isn’t a significant contributor.

Gary Greene lives in Greenfield.